The HMCS Canada was launched in 1904 as the CGS (Canadian Government Ship) Canada and served in the Fisheries Protection Service. When the Royal Canadian Navy was formed in 1910 she became the first ship in the service, serving as a naval training vessel. During WW1 she was fitted with guns and patrolled the east coast of Canada. She was retired in 1920 and sold. During transit in 1926 to another sale, she sank in the straits of Florida.

I recently found this fabulous old Black & Decker 1/4" electric drill at a thrift store. It's design is steam punk!

With patent dtaes of 1919 and 1926, I assume it's from the 1930's. Interesting, the data plate indicates that Black & Decker Canada was operating that early from locations in Montreal, Toronto, Calgary, Winnipeg and Vancouver. You can see the similarity with the famous 1917 B&D patent for a pistol grip, shown below:

Macauley, C.B.F. The Helicopters Are Coming. Whittlesey House (McGraw-Hill Book Co.), 1955.

The Piasecki-Venzie PV-2 first flew on April 11, 1943, making Frank Piasecki the second American to fly a helicopter of his own design. The PV-2 had a number of advanced features: the first dynamically balanced rotor blades, a rigid tail rotor with a tension-torsion pitch change system, and a full cyclic and collective rotor pitch control. While Piasecki hoped his aircraft would open a new era in personal transportation, his company went in another direction, building large cargo helicopters for the military.The PV-2 is now on display at the National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.

Monday, June 29, 2015

Lovely little tool I found recently. It even came with a spare armature! The spoon-shaped part beside the chuck is to assist in holding the tool by the barrel for closer work. I think I may be able to mount it on the tool post of my metal lathe as a grinder.

I'm not sure of the tool's age but it was probably made by Emerson Electric, which used to make most of the power tools for Sears before being unceremoniously dumped. (For that sad story, read Bernie Marcus' and Arthur Blank's 1999 book: Built from Scratch: How a Couple of Regular Guys Grew The Home Depot from Nothing to $30 Billion. I've excerpted the relevant pages here. That was 16 years ago, before Ridgid also went to off-shore production. Today, almost all Ridgid tools are now made by Hong Kong-based TekTronics International (TTI), the parent company of Ryobi, which also manufactures the tools for AEG and Milwaukee.)

Sunday, June 28, 2015

I've been looking for one of these for awhile now, I'd like a saw I can carry on the dirtbike for trail maintenance and this one, all 29cc and 12 inch pf cutting power of it oughta fit the bill. It cost about as much as a new chain will cost and as it starts on the first pull. I'm just tickled. The Minimac was as far as I know the smallest saw ever sold on the North American market and was produced for only 5 years, 1972 to 1977.

Above, three wood chisels marked "Ardex" on one side of the blade, "Germany" on the other. Below, an Ardex Italy secateur:

Even Ireland got its turn:

Below, an Ardex backsaw, which proclaims on the blade "Fully Tempered, Warranted Quality" and "Best Quality."

The saw medallion procalims "Warrington Superior" with some kind of heraldic crest. I'm pretty sure that this is just made up to look official but is actually meaningless.Below, an Italian-made oil can using this trade name:

("Brevettato" is Italian for "patent.")

Ardex was a trademark used in Canada by H.R. Radomski & Co. of Toronto. Radomski appears to have been principally an importer of European tools, applying the Ardex name to hammers, woodchisels, tinsmith's snips, vises, hatchets, axes, oilers and other hand tools. (See my previous post on oiler labels.) The secateurs above may have been made by a different company using that name. However, Radomski also seems to have actually made axes in Canada, beginning in 1977. The company was dissolved in 2003.

A safety or emergency flare, intended for use when your automobile broke down at night. This thing was covered with stamped patent numbers!

The two later ones refer to patents assigned to Raymond F. Hutt of Fort Madison, Iowa.

Update July 8, 2015. I stumbled across this image on Etsy:

These flares certainly look like mine, so it is probably "Another Trukflar" from the Anthes Force Oiler Company of Fort Madison, Iowa. They made a number of interesting items, including a metal holder for storing automotive lamp bulbs: See Uncle Atom. The firm was wrapped up in 1960, merging with the Gleason Corporation of Milwaukee.